Kev Rowland
Finnish band SoulHealer are back with their fourth album, their first since they went through a few line-up changes last year. What we have here is traditional heavy metal that contains huge elements of Saxon, Scorpions, Helloween and Blind Guardian. There are certainly times when I found myself smiling, and gently moving the noggin, but there are a couple of things that mean that this album isn’t as good as the band think it is. Firstly, the songs themselves are quite boring to be honest: there is the feeling that the get up and go has already got up and gone, and they could do with upping the tempo and providing more aggression. I certainly get the impression that the production has watered down their attack, and that live they would be quite a different proposition. That is also the place where I would more likely forgive singer Jori Kärki, as there are times when he goes for notes that he just can’t hit cleanly or with enough power.
The result is an album which most Metalheads will enjoy to a certain level, but it is unlikely that anyone will be frequently returning to it. Not bad, but certainly not brilliant either.